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Sunday, November 7, 2010

Salam Zulhijah,Indonesia was rocked by two separate disasters earlier last 2 week - a 7.7-magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami on Monday that swept onto the Mentawai Island chain in western Indonesia, and less than 24 hours later and a few hundred miles away, Mount Merapi erupted multiple times, unleashing searing pyroclastic flows that destroyed villages and blanketed the countryside in ash. Rescue personnel are only now reaching some of the more remote areas, but as of this writing, it is estimated that nearly 300 people were killed by the tsunami, and at least 125 died near Mount Merapi. Collected here are early photos from the dual disasters, and the rescue and recovery efforts just underway.

LET US ALL PRAY FOR THEM!!

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A man wears a face mask as ash from the erupting Mount Merapi volcano blankets a street, at Kaliurang village in Sleman, on October 26, 2010 near Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Thousands have been ordered to evacuate as Mount Merapi, which last erupted in 2006, began to emit plumes of smoke and clouds of ash.

This aerial photo shows a damaged building in a village flattened by Monday's earthquake triggered tsunami on Pagai island, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010

A structure off its foundation and other destruction is seen in this October 26, 2010 photo taken on North Pagai (Pagai Utara), one of the Mentawai islands off the west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island after an earthquake and following tsunami hit the area the night before.

This aerial photograph taken from Vice President Boediono's helicopter shows the remains of a village area swept away by a tsunami in North Pagai island, one of the Mentawai islands, on October 27, 2010.

Villagers wrap recovered bodies in plastic in the tsunami-hit Muntei Baru Baru village, where hundreds of homes once stood, in the Cikakap subdistrict of Indonesia's Mentawai islands on October 26, 2010.

Bodies of young children lie in the tsunami-hit Muntei Baru Baru village, in Indonesia's Mentawai islands on October 26, 2010.

An aerial photograph taken from Vice President Boediono's helicopter shows a house swept away by a tsunami, leaving only the concrete floor area behind, in North Pagai island on October 27, 2010.

Australian tsunami survivors Daniel Scanlan, left, and injured Robert Marino walk on the pier upon their arrival at a port in Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. The group of Australians said they were on the back deck of their chartered boat, anchored in a bay, when Monday's quake and tsunami struck. The 10-foot tsunami swept away hundreds of homes, and killed scores of villagers.

Indonesian Vice President Boediono (3rd from right in white shirt), accompanied by officials, prays over recovered bodies of tsunami victims in North Pagai island on October 27, 2010.

A government volcanologist monitors Mount Merapi activity from Volcano Monitoring Centre in Yogyakarta on October 25, 2010. Indonesia ordered thousands of people to evacuate from around Mount Merapi as it raised the alert for its most active volcano to red, warning of a possible imminent eruption. Mount Merapi, which lies around 25 kilometers north of the town of Yogyakarta in the center of Java, last erupted in June 2006.

A view of the Mount Merapi volcano emitting smoke is seen from Cangkringan village in the district of Sleman, central Java October 25, 2010

Villagers travel in a truck after being evacuated from their village to Girikerto village in Sleman, on October 26, 2010 near Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Authorities evacuated more than 11,000 villagers living on the slopes of the Mount Merapi volcano near Yogyakarta on Java after the alert status for an eruption was raised to the highest level.

A rescuer carries an elderly woman to a temporary shelter as she is evacuated from her home on the slope of Mount Merapi, in Pakem, Yogyakarta, Indonesia on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010.

Indonesian rescuers evacuate victims of Merapi volcano at Kinahrejo village, Sleman, Yogyakarta on October 26, 2010, after the volcano erupted three times.

A rescuer carries a young victim at Kinahrejo village, Sleman, Yogyakarta on October 26, 2010 after the eruption of Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano

Paramedics wheel a burned, ash-covered villager on a stretcher as Mount Merapi erupts, at Kaliurang village in Sleman, on October 26, 2010 near Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Paramedics carry an injured villager in Kaliurang village in Sleman, on October 26, 2010.

A mother carries her son as she runs following the erupution of Mount Merapi, at Kaliurang village in Sleman, on October 26, 2010.

A rescuer wheels a man, badly burned by an eruption of Mount Merapi, into a hospital in Pakem, Yogyakarta, Indonesia on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010

Burnt trees and ash cover the ground in the village of Kinarrejo in Sleman, near the ancient city of Yogyakarta, October 27, 2010

Volunteers search for victims of the Mount Merapi eruption at Kinahrejo village in Sleman, Indonesia on October 27, 2010

A bowl of noodles and a glass rest on a table, covered by ash at Mbah Marijan's house at Kinarrejo village in Sleman on October 27, 2010. Mbah Marijan, was considered to be the spiritual gatekeeper of Mount Merapi

A buffalo lies dead and covered with volcanic ash at a village hit by pyroclastic flows from Tuesday's eruption of Mount Merapi in Kinahrejo, Yogyakarta, Indonesia on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010

Indonesian search and rescue teams explore the area after Mount Merapi volcano erupted the night before in the village of Pakem in Sleman, Yogyakarta province on October 27, 2010.

A car covered in volcanic ash sits amongst surrounding damage after Mount Merapi volcano erupted the night before in the village of Pakem in Sleman on October 27, 2010.

A motorist covers his face with his jacket as he rides on an ash-covered road in Klaten, Central Java October 27, 2010 after Mount Merapi erupted on Tuesday

This file photo taken on May 17, 2006 shows Mbah Marijan, the appointed guardian for Mount Merapi by Yogyakarta's highly respected Sultan Hamengkubuwono X as he prays for the people's safety in Kinahrejo. Marijan was one of the victims of the eruption. Grandfather Marijan was found dead - reportedly discovered in a prayer position - inside his burnt house about four kilometers (2.5 miles) from the peak, local officials said